Championship Preview: Whitehaven v Halifax

Sunday 3.00pm at the Recreation Ground
Saints loanee Jordan Hand is expected to return for Whitehaven against Halifax after missing last weekend’s cup defeat at York. Haven went down by two points in an exciting contest at the Huntington Stadium, a game Hand missed so that he didn’t get cup tied.

On loan Wigan halfback Chris Taylor is a major doubt, he is battling to overcome an ankle problem, while Ben Milburn is likely to miss out after suffering a knee injury at training. Craig Calvert, who returned to training a week ago, needs two tries to take his career tally to 200.

Whitehaven coach Dave Woods is hoping for a quick turnaround in fortune after recording three defeats from the club’s first four fixtures of 2014.

Woods said: “We are pretty disappointed with our start. We should be doing a lot better than we have been.

“It will need to be a big performance this week. It’s our first home game since early February, so it’s been a long time coming and we want to give our fans something to cheer about.

“The fans have got a big role to play, too. We need as many there as possible, and then hopefully we can get the three points and go into next week’s game against Barrow with a bit of a boost.”

Halifax winger Rob Worrincy has given coach Karl Harrison a major selection headache after scoring five tries against Hull Dockers. Worrincy has now scored over 100 tries in Halifax colours.

Gareth Potts, Wayne Reittie and Tommy Saxton are also vying for wing spots as Halifax search for a third win of the league season.